‘FG Will Not Succumb To Blackmail Tactics’: Buhari Condemns Zamfara School Abduction

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday condemned the abduction of
hundreds of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe
in Zamfara State as inhumane and totally unacceptable and sent out
a strong warning to bandits and their sponsors.

In a statement released by spokesman Garba Shehu, the President
said that “this administration will not succumb to blackmail by
bandits who target innocent school students in the expectations of
huge ransom payments.”

According to Buhari, “no criminal group can be too strong to be
defeated by the government,” adding that, “the only thing standing
between our security forces and the bandits are the rules of
engagement.”

“We have the capacity to deploy massive force against the
bandits in the villages where they operate, but our limitation is
the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who
might be used as human shields by the bandits,” he said, stressing
that “our primary objective is to get the hostages safe, alive and
unharmed.”

President Buhari noted that “a hostage crisis is a complex
situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the
victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of
their captors.”

He warned the bandits: “Let them not entertain any illusions
that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t
mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting
innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or
irresolution.”

The President appealed to state governments “to review their
policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that
the policy might boomerang disastrously.”

He also advised states and local governments to be more
proactive by improving security around schools and their
surroundings.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday condemned the abduction of
hundreds of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe
in Zamfara State as inhumane and totally unacceptable and sent out
a strong warning to bandits and their sponsors.

In a statement released by spokesman Garba Shehu, the President
said that “this administration will not succumb to blackmail by
bandits who target innocent school students in the expectations of
huge ransom payments.”

According to Buhari, “no criminal group can be too strong to be
defeated by the government,” adding that, “the only thing standing
between our security forces and the bandits are the rules of
engagement.”

“We have the capacity to deploy massive force against the
bandits in the villages where they operate, but our limitation is
the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who
might be used as human shields by the bandits,” he said, stressing
that “our primary objective is to get the hostages safe, alive and
unharmed.”

President Buhari noted that “a hostage crisis is a complex
situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the
victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of
their captors.”

He warned the bandits: “Let them not entertain any illusions
that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t
mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting
innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or
irresolution.”

The President appealed to state governments “to review their
policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that
the policy might boomerang disastrously.”

He also advised states and local governments to be more
proactive by improving security around schools and their
surroundings.